Showing posts with label World Bartender Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World Bartender Day. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

TJ's More than Just Concerts, Pastries, Margaritas, Chili, Chowder and Much More

TJ’s Corral – More Than Just Concerts
A Distant Shot of a Wedding Ceremony
Preceding the Reception in TJ's Corral
We answer our phone calls and read our social media and emails so we know that learning more details and ticket availability regarding the 2018 concert series in TJ’s Corral is on the top of everyone’s mind. And, if you'll bear with us (please?!), we’ll have more on that next week. 

For now, did you know that TJ’s Corral is for more than just concerts? Our Outdoor Event Venue has been used for multi-day corporate events, an elaborate wedding and reception, various fundraising events, a Celebration of Life, private VIP parties, and sporting events such as collegiate boxing and MMA fights. 

If you are contemplating a large event - be it business or social - we’d welcome the opportunity to talk to you about holding it in TJ‘s Corral. Start by giving Carrie a call at 775-783-6673. She'll help assess your needs and start formulating a plan - and associated cost - for how it might play out in TJ's Corral.

Valentine’s Day Takeaways
We made some observations last week around Valentine’s Day – perhaps some of these thoughts will help you in the future. Most obvious was how late many people waited to try to make reservations for CV Steak. Don’t know that this will ever change, but it sure resulted in a lot of people being disappointed. On the positive side, quite a few callers, when given the slight suggestion, made a reservation for either a day or two before Valentine’s Day or even the day after.  We saw a lot of couples enjoying Valentines dinner on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of last week without the crowds that populate any restaurant on any actual “dining out” holiday. Looking ahead, mark down Sunday, April 1 (less than 6 weeks away) for Easter and also Sunday, May 12 for Mother’s Day. Both of these holidays also bring heavy crowds to our restaurants and reservations fill up fast as the holiday draws closer. For Mother’s Day, we have an alternative for our many customers from outside of the immediate area: take advantage of our Mother’s Day Weekend Hotel and Dining Package. Arrive on Friday, enjoy all the spring fun the Carson Valley has to offer and plan your Mother’s Day celebration on Saturday night in CV Steak. If you’d like to add flowers on arrival as part of your Mother’s Day weekend package, let our reservations folks know and they’ll give you the names of a couple of area florists. They’ll deliver to us the day of your arrival and we’ll have the flowers waiting in your room!

We Did Our Sticky Bun Tests
Sticky Buns
Today is Sticky Bun Day. We tried our best to find someone at CVI who would tell us point blank that we do offer sticky buns by their strictest definition. Our Food and Beverage Director, Executive Chef, Pastry Chef and even our seasoned Food Buyer all gave us the thumbs down saying technically, none of our bakery products are the conventional definition of a sticky bun. So, we went up to Job’s Perk for our own research. We ordered a cinnamon roll, a bear claw, and a Danish pastry and, between two of us, ate ‘em all. We then applied the napkin test – how many we used to keep our hands and mouths unsticky during the accompanying conversation. The verdict? All three of these pastries are sticky enough in our book to be acceptable for observing Sticky Bun Day! If you don’t want people to know you’re eating these incredibly satisfying goodies, we’ll help you pull off this clandestine approach:  Come into Job’s Perk, quietly order the “sticky” pastries of your choice plus a banana and an oat bran muffin. We’ll put the decadent pastries in a nondescript bag behind the counter and hand them to you discreetly. You can then walk out with this bag while giving a healthful appearance of consuming a banana and an oat bread muffin! Oh, if you have given up sweets for lent, please don’t take this as a temptation . . .

Interesting But Only Moderately Important
  • Thursday is Margarita Day and Chili Day.  We don’t confine ourselves to a particular day on these two: Margaritas are served 24/7 at our casino bar and Chili is on the menu 365 days a year in Katie’s. And we will readily admit that we do have a couple of kinds of beans in our Chili. So, to the purists who insist that real Chili doesn’t have beans, just enjoy what we serve and ponder this: Is it chili or chilli?
  • Saturday is World Bartender Day - the day to appreciate the staff in your local bar which at the CVI could be either the Casino Bar or the CV Steak Bar or even one of our banquet bars. If you choose to cut out the middleman (the bartender), settle in at home on Saturday night and celebrate Open That Bottle Night with someone you love.
  • Sunday is National Clam Chowder Day but it seems we were just there with a similar claim on January 21. Turns out the January date was just for New England Clam Chowder and that limitation isn’t placed on the February 25 “celebration.” Whatever . . . we serve our Clam Chowder New England style in Katie’s and we do so every Friday!
  • Tuesday is Kahlua Day.  Mudslide, Black Russian, Coffee Martini, B52, T52 Shooter  . . . these are just some of the drinks presented in this list of 23 Kahlua Recipes.  Can our bartenders make them all? Guess you’ll just have to ask them!
In the Casino
One of These Free
to the First 150 Ladies Tonight
  • Ladies’ Night Tonight:  Ladies, join us from 5:30 to 8:30 PM with a Free Color Changing Cube LCD Alarm Clock for the first 150 ladies and Yankee Candle Gift Baskets as hot seat prizes.  Also tonight: games, a weekly drink special, free bingo and you’ll earn entries for the February 28 drawing for a Free Spa Package.
  • Free Meals Mondays and Wednesdays: Earn just 100 points (before any multipliers) on any Monday or Wednesday through February and swipe at the casino kiosk for a certificate for a free meal from our special Player’s Menu! Choices include our All-American Breakfast, any omelet, a cheeseburger or any of our six $7.99 Plates. You keep the points!
  • $200,000 Cash & Freeplay Giveaway Drawings Fridays and Saturdays: Join us at 5, 7 and 9 PM for the drawings in our $200,000 Giveaway Promotion through March 31. There’s a guaranteed $1000 winner at each drawing every Friday night and every Saturday night . . . plus four more winners at each drawing with lots of cash to go around. You’re earning one free entry into the Friday and Saturday drawings for every five base points you earn during the month.
  • Multiply Your Points Saturday: INN Club members earn 4X Points on video reel slots and Double Points on video poker slots. So be sure to use your INN Club card while playing in the casino and multiply the benefits of your play every Saturday in February.
  • Hot Seat Mondays: Every Monday in February we’re doing hot seat drawings between 2 and 8 PM with a chance to win up to $500! Be sure to use your INN Club card while playing in our casino and you may just be called for one of our Monday hot seat prizes!
  • At the Sports and Race Book: This week you can bet NHL, NBA and NCAA Basketball, the NASCAR Folds Of Honor Quiktrip 500 and Horse Racing.  Futures on the board include winners for the NCAA Basketball Championship, The Masters (April 5-8), FIFA World Cup Russia™ (June 14 – July 15), NBA Championship, NHL Stanley Cup, World Series and NASCAR Monster Energy Series. The Sports Book crew is starting to get wound up over the upcoming NCAA Conference Tournaments, Selection Sunday, March Madness and the higher point Kentucky Derby Prep Races . .  all coming very soon!
In Our Restaurants
  • Wednesday is Italian Day in Katie’s – three specials for $6.99 each served from 11 AM to 10 PM! The Friday and Saturday night special in Katie’s is Roasted Prime Rib & Fried Shrimp for $14.99 served from 4 PM.
  • Thursday’s special in CV Steak is the CV Steak Mix Grill, a combination of our Filet Mignon, a Dijon and molasses Marinated Pork Tenderloin Medallion and Herb Marinated Lamb Chop for $26. This Friday it's Roasted Stuffed Quail with Prosciutto, Wild Rice Pilaf and Plum Port glaze for  $28. Saturday night’s special is Garlic Studded Prime Rib for $26 and Sunday's special is King Crab Legs for $32. These specials are served with fresh vegetable, choice of rice or potato – au gratin, baked, or a one-pound, twice-baked – tableside tossed salad and warm demi-loaf of bread.
  • Click the restaurant name for more info, specials and links to menus for Katie’sCV Steak and Jobs Perk at the CVI . . . or our nearby sister property restaurants, the Jackpot Café at Sharkey's Casino, Bodines Restaurant at Bodines Casino and Betsy’s Big Kitchen at Slot World Casino.
Free Entertainment in the Cabaret Lounge
Jamie Rollins tonight, Justin Lee Thursday thru Saturday, Rock River Sunday and Roem Baur Tuesday and Wednesday.  Jamie Rollins performs a variety of music from country to rock, to classic oldies and R&B – plus a few of his own songs. A Night In The Country – Nevada’s largest country music festival – has featured Justin Lee multiple times including a main stage opener for The Band Perry in 2015. Justin’s new album Where I Belong includes the single Like I've Fallen and here’s a link to the video, part of which was recorded in our TJ’s Corral. Rock River is Buddy and Kim from the Buddy Emmer Blues Band with an evening of blues and other music! Rock leaning Roem Baur has been featured on the main stage at Super Bowl 50, NBC's The Voice and at CES & SXSW conferences.

Planning a Stay at the CVI? You will always get the best rate by booking directly with the Carson Valley Inn either online or by calling our Reservation Department directly at 775-783-6629 or 800-321-6983. 

Comments? Have questions or comments about the CVI? Use the comments section below, shoot us an email or pick up the phone and call us @ 775-782-9711. Hit “0” when the automated voice comes on and you'll go right to the hotel operator who can get you to the correct person or department.  We have a lot more coming up at the Carson Valley Inn so check our Blog posting every Wednesday morning!

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Wynonna Tickets Selling Fast, TJ's Alumni Have Hits, Getting to and from the Carson Valley Inn, More

Concert Ramblings:
  • Great show at our Nashville Nights Showcase in the Valley Ballroom last Friday! Joey Whitacre our Director of Casino Operations and Marketing and Rob Brooks our Entertainment Manager, created a cozy and comfortable atmosphere and the vibe was spot on! The two are working on another Nashville Nights Showcase for the end of March – we’ll have word in our weekly blog as soon as we pin down the details.
  • Two of our TJs Corral concert alumni have songs in the Billboard Top 10 this week: Dustin Lynch’s “Seein’ Red” is #5 and Chris Young’s “Sober Saturday Nightfeaturing Vince Gill is at #9. If we could get one of these two artists back for 2017, which one would you pick? Let us know in the Comments section below.
  • Speaking of 2017 . . . We know you are clamoring for news on even more TJ’s Corral concerts for 2017 and if you’ve been one of our blog readers for a while, you know the news usually breaks here first. So for now we’ll just remind you of these two already-announced: Wynonna and the Big Noise Tour on Saturday night, April 29 (tickets are on sale now and are over half sold) and the Marshall Tucker Band on Friday night, July 28 (ticket availability will be announced in a future Wednesday morning blog). 
Assorted Useful Info – Links to Save:
  • Working at the CVI Is a Good Gig and you can check out the open positions today or anytime on the CVI employment page on our website.
  • Bartenders Rule – So It Seems: We’re not sure how the brotherhood of bartenders pulled this off, but in December they celebrated Bartender Appreciation Day and now this Friday is World Bartender Day. We hope you take good care of your bartenders on Friday – and every day. We checked around for a bartender joke that would be a good segue into the next item below, see what you think about the one we found!
  • Start on Your Taxes Yet?  It’s less than 8 weeks ‘til the filing deadline and if your tax return includes the need for a Win-Loss Report from your gaming activities at the CVI, here’s a link to the Request Form.  Reminder: we can only report what you won or lost while playing using your INN Club card, so be sure to use your card anytime you sit down at a slot machine or table game!
  • Getting to and from the Carson Valley Inn has more alternatives these days, and here are some helpful links:
    • Minden Taxi (775-265-7060) has been providing service around the Carson Valley for 17 Years.
    • The Carson Valley Airporter runs scheduled shuttles between the CVI and Reno Airport multiple times each day.
    • The Ride-sharing Services Lyft and Uber are both available for trekking to and from the CVI.
  • An Eclectic Mix of Rural Nevada and Mardi Gras is one way to describe the Austin’s House Cowboy Mardi Gras happening this Friday in the Valley Ballroom. Click on the link and check out the details - all proceeds go to the Carson Valley Children’s Home so please attend if you can!
  • What Else is Going On In Carson Valley? We often ask that same question ourselves and we have found the Carson Valley Visitors Authority Calendar to be a pretty darn good source. The Visitors Authority Staff does an excellent job of keeping this up to date on what there is to do and see for those visiting the area - whether it’s you, or someone coming in to visit you. If you live locally and are more interested in non-visitor events, we offer our kudos to the staff at the Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce who maintain this calendar with more local events.
  • A Popular Year-Round Gift: Sure we sell a lot of CVI Gift Cards around any holiday – and most of the time people say they’re offering it to someone to have dinner in CV Steak. The other four most common uses: birthdays, anniversaries, employee appreciation and customer appreciation. The best one we’ve heard? “I didn’t ask for permission so now this is part of me asking for forgiveness!” CVI Gift Cards are quite versatile and can be used at all of our properties. Buy ‘em at the Hotel Desk and check the details at this link.
  • Oops – We Had This One Wrong Last Week: We erroneously stated in last week’s blog that Tuesday was National Margarita Day.  It is actually today, Wednesday. We do occasionally make mistakes in this weekly blog . . . and even more occasionally we “fess up!”

Thursday, Friday & Saturday Nights in the Cabaret Lounge!
Free Entertainment in the Cabaret Lounge
Steve Lord tonight, Art Mulcahy and the Roadside Flare Thursday through Saturday, Bill Wharton Sunday and Monday and Patrick Major next Tuesday and Wednesday.  Country singer/songwriter/guitarist Art Mulcahy grew up in Key West, Florida, found his home in Sacramento, and graduated with a degree in guitar (as opposed to our blog writer who, at best, majored in "air guitar").  His songs are influenced by all varieties of Country, R & B, a touch of Reggae and a pinch of Metal. Riveted in his experiences, Art writes with raw emotion - truthful and unfiltered. Having spent 7 years as a United States Marine, Art knows what it is like to hurt, bleed and work hard. A “guy next door,” he will make you laugh, make you cry and make you feel like the most important person in the room.

In the Casino
  • Ladies’ Night Tonight: Join us 5:30 to 8:30 PM with a free Wallet for the first 150 ladies, Chocolate Shoppe Gift Baskets as hot seat prizes, games, drink specials, FREE Bingo and last chance to earn entries for tonight’s drawings for a free Designer Handbag.
  • Golden Ticket Days: Today through Friday. Stop by the Promo kiosk to see how many Golden Tickets you have earned 'cause they have been piling up for you at the rate of one Golden Ticket for every 100 points you've accumulated since January 1!
  • $1,000 Guaranteed Friday: Free Cash and Getaway Giveaways Promotion drawings at 5, 7 and 9 PM. $1,000 in some combination of Cash, Free Play and Trips is guaranteed!
  • 4X Points Saturday: That’s quadruple the benefits for your play!
  • Golden Ticket Drawings Saturday: We’re giving away a guaranteed total of $20,000 in Cash and Freeplay between CVI and Bodines Casino and we’ll have 10 winners each at 6 and 8 p.m. at the CVI!
  • February Scratcher Drawings Tuesday: Join us at 6 and 8 p.m. for the chance to win up to $5,000.
  • Penny Progressive Over $67,000:  this Progressive Jackpot can only be won on one of the Triple Red Hot 7's slots at the CVI, Sharkey’s or Bodines.Sports and Race Book: This week you can bet the NBA, College Basketball, NHL and the NASCAR Daytona 500.  Futures on the board include winners for NCAA Basketball Championship,  Masters, NBA Championship, NHL Stanley Cup and World Series.
  • Poker Room: Our two new Friday and Saturday high-hand-of-the-hour promotions and our new Saturday night Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament both started off strong last weekend. All of our Featured Games, Tournaments and Special Promotions are listed on our website, click here for the full story.
  • Here’s a Handy Page with all our Current Casino Promotions!
In Our Restaurants
  • Wednesday is Italian Day in Katie’s – three specials for $6.99 each served from 11 AM to 10 PM!
  • Thursday is National Chili Day. Since the CVI has been the site of many chili cook-off events over the years – both sanctioned and non-sanctioned – we have been drilled in the protocol of the “proper” definition of chili. So, with blatant disrespect to the purists, we will simply say that Job’s Perk features our special 3-Pepper Chili & Beans every day starting at 11 AM – enjoy a bowl or a chili dog. And if chili is not your thing, we also feature clam chowder in Job’s Perk every day. Whichever you choose, it’s got to sound good after the last three days of weather we have experienced!
  • Our Friday special in CV Steak is Braised Buffalo Short Ribs for $30.  Saturday night’s special is Garlic Studded Prime Rib for $26 and Sunday's special is one pound of King Crab Legs for $32. These specials are served with fresh vegetable, choice of rice or potato (au gratin, baked, or a one-pound, twice-baked), tableside tossed salad and warm demi-loaf of bread.
  • Click the restaurant name for more info, specials and links to menus for Katie’s, CV Steak and Jobs Perk at the CVI . . . or our nearby sister property restaurants, the Jackpot Café at Sharkey's Casino and the Bodines Restaurant at Bodines Casino.
Planning a Stay at the CVI? You will always get the best rate by booking directly with the Carson Valley Inn either online or by calling our Reservation Department directly at 775-783-6629 or 800-321-6983.

Comments? Have questions or comments about the CVI? Use the comments section below, shoot us an email or pick up the phone and call us @ 775-782-9711. Hit “0” when the automated voice comes on and you'll go right to the hotel operator who can get you to the correct person or department.  We have a lot more coming up at the Carson Valley Inn so check our Blog posting every Wednesday morning!